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Topic: Ricotta - I need help (Read 12914 times)

I've been to a couple places recently where they put ricotta on a pie and it melted smooth as silk. When I put ricotta on a pie, it just sits there and has the texture of fine cottage cheese. I tried whole milk. I tried straining it. What am I doing wrong? How do I get it to melt smooth???

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"We make great pizza, with sourdough when we can, commercial yeast when we must, but always great pizza." Craig's Neapolitan Garage

I've been to a couple places recently where they put ricotta on a pie and it melted smooth as silk. When I put ricotta on a pie, it just sits there and has the texture of fine cottage cheese. I tried whole milk. I tried straining it. What am I doing wrong? How do I get it to melt smooth???

I've been to a couple places recently where they put ricotta on a pie and it melted smooth as silk. When I put ricotta on a pie, it just sits there and has the texture of fine cottage cheese. I tried whole milk. I tried straining it. What am I doing wrong? How do I get it to melt smooth???

Craig - Do you have access to hand dipped ricotta from a small producer? That does make a difference in the final product for me.

The Calabro hand dip ricotta is amazing. It has that melting characteristic you are looking for http://accardifoods.com/documents/6Cheese.pdf. It comes in a metal wrapped tin. The Calabro ricotta that comes in those cream cheese like containers isn't the same stuff.

The Calabro hand dip ricotta is amazing. It has that melting characteristic you are looking for http://accardifoods.com/documents/6Cheese.pdf. It comes in a metal wrapped tin. The Calabro ricotta that comes in those cream cheese like containers aren't the same stuff.

I tried some of the calabro hand dipped ricotta recently, that stuff is incredible.

This is what I buy, and even save the metal cans for use when I make my own every year or so. It is truly amazing. I can buy it at my local Stop and Shop anytime, as they stock all Calabro products, which are from Connecticut.

I made ricotta myself last weekend, and it was sooooo smoootthhh (and unbelievably easy). You gotta try and just make the stuff yourself. I don't know that it will melt better (I'm guessing it would) but it was without the graininess of most store bought stuff. I used Ina Garten's recipe from Food Network. Again, ridiculously easy.... I shared it with friends (plain cracker, dollop of ricotta, 1/2 dollop of jam) and they were all amazes. I even screwed it up... halved the recipe, but not the sale and it still came out good. I'm hoping I can incorporate it into a white sauce of some sort. Curious what other ingredients your topping your pie along with the ricotta?

I made ricotta myself last weekend, and it was sooooo smoootthhh (and unbelievably easy). You gotta try and just make the stuff yourself. I don't know that it will melt better (I'm guessing it would) but it was without the graininess of most store bought stuff. I used Ina Garten's recipe from Food Network. Again, ridiculously easy.... I shared it with friends (plain cracker, dollop of ricotta, 1/2 dollop of jam) and they were all amazes. I even screwed it up... halved the recipe, but not the sale and it still came out good. I'm hoping I can incorporate it into a white sauce of some sort. Curious what other ingredients your topping your pie along with the ricotta?

That is the consistency of the nonfat Calabro ricotta (which for what it is.... is really good but not for your excellent looking pizzas).

The first ingredient in that cheese is cows milk whey -- that is the liquid left over after making cheese - you can make ricotta with it but it's not going to be as creamy as a ricotta made with just milk. The best stuff in the milk became the cheese before the ricotta. You will want to look for a cheese that is milk , starter and possibly salt.

I just did a little searching and I can't back up my statement above but I have made ricotta from whey and from whole milk and there is a difference in the consistency of the cheese.

scott123

Craig, I'm sure you're already aware of this, but ricotta doesn't really melt, at least, not in the traditional cheese melting sense. We're talking about completely static cheese particles suspended in liquid. It's the size/consistency of the these particles and the quantity of liquid that dictates flow when heated. This is why blending/processing with liquid is so popular. Smaller, wetter particles will flow better during baking.

The absolute worst case scenario is dry clumpy ricotta- which you experienced first hand. This can be brought back to life, though, with sufficient blending and liquid- to a point.

Particule texture varies widely- you can have soft, velvety particles vs. hard grainy ones. Particle consistency relies less on source (whey vs. milk), then it does on cheesemaking skills and freshness. Whenever you make this kind of cheese, you're looking at very tight tolerances when it comes to curdling agents and heat. Too much curdling agent (usually acid) and you denature the proteins excessively and you end up with a rubbery particle. Too much heat, same thing. It takes tremendous skills to end up with something soft and velvety- skills that, imo, take months of cheesemaking to acquire as well as an understanding of the chemistry involved. It's way more than your typical ricotta recipe of just heating the milk, adding the acid and collecting the curds. Way more.

The other aspect is freshness. Purchased ricotta, over time, will get grainier. I can't speak for the rest of the country, but typical supermarket brand ricotta, if used close to the day you buy it, is usually pretty darn tender and creamy. In my area, it's always better than Polly-O and Sorrento. That's what I'd try first- with some blending and some liquid- cream, milk, olive oil, etc. If that doesn't work well for you, go with the national brands.

Imo, instead of seeking out a special brand that might be a bit more expensive and not have great turnover, it's preferable to get the freshest cheap stuff you can find.

Scott, that is what I thought, however I have has several pies lately that said ricotta on the menu and the cheese was soft and smooth as silk. The flavor was not that of mozzarella, so I don't know what to think.

CL

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"We make great pizza, with sourdough when we can, commercial yeast when we must, but always great pizza." Craig's Neapolitan Garage

That doesn't look like ricotta in the package or on the pie from the pics that I see. It looks like curd. Definitely try Sorrento like Scott said I've used that in the past and never had a problem with it.